New York Spring Event

The New York Spring Event is the American Kidney Fund’s signature fundraiser in the Northeast region. This year, the event honored Dr. Steven N. Fishbane as Nephrologist of the Year and Mr. John J. Raggio as Humanitarian of the Year.

For more information about this event, please email Maggie Eng-Salvaggio or call her at 800.638.8299.

Meet the Honorees

Nephrologist of the Year, Steven N. Fishbane, MD (left) with AKF President and CEO LaVarne A. Burton and Humanitarian of the Year, Mr. John J. Raggio (right).

Dr. Steven N. FishbaneNephrologist of the Year

Steven N. Fishbane, M.D., is Chief of the Division of Kidney Diseases and Hypertension at the North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Great Neck, N.Y. He also serves as Vice President of the North Shore-LIJ Health System for Network Dialysis Services and Director of Clinical Research at the North Shore-LIJ Department of Medicine, and is a Professor of Medicine at the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine. He joined North Shore-LIJ in 2011.

Prior to joining North Shore-LIJ, Dr. Fishbane was the Chief Medical Officer at Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, N.Y., where he had also served as Chief of the Division of Nephrology, Associate Chairman of the hospital's Department of Medicine, and Medical Director of Winthrop's Dialysis Network. In his more than 15 years at Winthrop, Dr. Fishbane served in a variety of roles in clinical, research and educational capacities, and on many committees which focused on quality management and improvement and medical information systems.

After earning his medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, Dr. Fishbane completed an internship in medicine at Beth Israel Hospital in New York City. Subsequently, he completed a residency in internal medicine at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and a fellowship in nephrology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Dr. Fishbane is renowned for his studies on kidney disease and its complications, having published more than 130 peer-reviewed articles in medical journals and chapters in nephrology textbooks. He has been named to New York Magazine's "Best Doctors" list many times and has received numerous awards and honors for his work. A practicing nephrologist, Dr. Fishbane is Board-certified in Internal Medicine and Nephrology.

Mr. John J. RaggioHumanitarian of the Year

In 2002, John Raggio shared his vision of halting the chronic kidney disease epidemic with the North Shore-LIJ Health System after witnessing the ever-growing prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Mr. Raggio decided to provide financial resources to help combat CKD. With support and commitment from the Health System, the Janet and John Raggio Nephrology Institute was established in late 2002. Its mission is to heighten community awareness of CKD prevention; to identify and educate the at-risk population on how to prolong renal survival and/or prevent CKD by early detection.

The Raggio Institute offers multi-faceted approaches to assist communities in combating CKD. The programs include community outreach and awareness, free educational workshops, on-site instant microalbuminuria screening, and various renal clinical research. To date, more than 10 years later, the Raggio Institute has provided more than 500 health educational workshops to various community organizations, civic clubs and support groups in Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties. What the Raggio Institute accomplished is to provide more than 11,000 community residents with the proven strategies in keeping their kidneys healthy. In addition, more than 1,200 adults benefited from the free microalbuminuria screening to learn if their kidney function were damaged.

Mr. Raggio is a partner at Sealift Inc. which owns and operates U.S. Flag ocean going vessels. He is a graduate of Baruch College. Mr. Raggio is a board member of the London P & I Insurance Club and a trustee of North Shore-LIJ Health System.